


put your lips close to mine (as long as they don't touch)

by celestialceci



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alaska, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), College, Ear Piercings, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Glee References, Insecure Zuko (Avatar), Inuit Sokka, Japanese Zuko, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Roommates, Slow Burn, Song: Treacherous (Taylor Swift), Summer Vacation, i did so much research on the mendenhall glacier for this, jets in this but has no rights and no lines, zuko being dramatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26207455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialceci/pseuds/celestialceci
Summary: Zuko hates his home. He likes college alright, but he likes Sokka even better, his assigned roommate turned best friend. Spending the summer with Sokka will be fun, a welcome change of pace he desperately wants. It probably won't awaken anything in him... right? (for the zukkanet august song lyric event)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 65
Kudos: 842
Collections: zukkanet event 01: song lyrics





	put your lips close to mine (as long as they don't touch)

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first ever atla/zukka fic! i'm very excited about it, but this is still my first time diving into these characters and their dynamics. i can't wait to grow more in this fandom, and i hope you all enjoy this soft hours™ fic. love letter to my wonderful beta, lebasi, and my dear emma <3 cecilia
> 
> update(s): shoutout to liv for making one of my favorite scenes from this fic some to life! commissioning her was the best decision ever. also thank you to rio for making a podfic of this story! if you would rather listen than read here, follow the link to 'works inspired by this one'. i love you guys!!!

Even with finals looming on the horizon, Sokka could tell there was something up with his roommate. Sokka felt pretty neutral about returning home over the summer– he’d miss the freedom he had gotten to have this first year at college, and especially not having to share space with his sister every day. At the same time, he missed his family and his hometown a lot, and the east coast just didn’t compare to the sights of Alaska.

Zuko definitely did not share these feelings, though. Ever since talk of summer plans had started around campus, he’d seemed on edge. When Sokka caught him looking at apartment listings he felt compelled to say something.

“Planning to stay here over the summer?” Sokka asks.

Zuko jumps a little in his chair, not having noticed Sokka looking over his shoulder. “Um, yeah.” Zuko rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “I was sort of thinking about it. Boston’s not cheap, though,” he adds, pulling a face.

“Any particular reason?”

“Just stuff at home,” Zuko hedges. Sokka pretty much knew what ‘stuff at home’ translated to by now, so he was actually a little surprised Zuko _hadn’t_ made alternate plans. Sokka says as much. “I want to be able to go see my uncle. But I don’t know if I could get away spending the entire summer at his house. If my father knows I’m in Phoenix, he’ll insist on seeing me.”

Sokka moves to sit on the corner of Zuko’s bed and rests his chin on the desk as he thinks. “If you sign up for summer classes, you could stay here,” was Sokka’s first thought.

Zuko makes a face that says he’d sooner spend the entire summer sweating bullets at his dad’s house than do a lick more of school than he has to. 

“Yeah, yeah, but I was just checking. It _would_ be mostly free with your scholarships.”

“Not free from killing my soul.”

Sokka snorts. Then the lightbulb finally comes. 

“What if you came home with me?”

Zuko looks away from the computer screen and down at Sokka, and blinks. “For the whole summer?”

“For as long as you want. Don’t feel like you have to go back home if you don’t want to. You’re old enough to not be chained to your family, Zuko.” Sokka tucks his hands up on the desk under his chin and gives Zuko an encouraging smile. “Unless you’re sick of me after this year.”

The edge of Zuko’s lip quirks up. “But what about your family? You’ve got your sister and your grandmother living with you. I don’t want to be… taking up space.”

“It’s really not a problem,” Sokka waves him off. “Dad is always gone in the summers on his research trips, and Katara always has so many friends over you’ll just blend in with the rest of us.”

Zuko runs a finger along the seam of his scar near his ear absentmindedly and says “I’ll think about it.”

Sokka leaves it at that, but he watches Zuko close the apartments dot com tab and leave the room to call his uncle less than an hour later. He tries really hard not to be nosy, but when he can hear Zuko’s voice through their window that’s near the landing of the outside staircase where Zuko is standing, well… he feels like it was more effort to _not_ eavesdrop as Zuko asks his uncle for his opinion.

Sokka is very excited about the prospect of Zuko spending the summer with him. He texts his family group chat to tell them about the invitation he’s extended. His dad is on board with little to no convincing on Sokka’s part, as he’d expected. There was some pushback from Katara about equal opportunity, which was met with a reminder that she has friends over all the time. 

So when Zuko comes to Sokka a couple days later to tell him he would like to accept Sokka’s offer, he whips out a paper where he’d written down flight information, costs, and an already lengthy list of things they’d do while Zuko was there. “Did you decide how long you want to stay for?”

Zuko blinks a few times at Sokka’s dense itinerary. “How about a month to start?”

༄

On the plane ride to Juneau, Sokka daydreamed about the summer ahead of him. It had taken him almost half the school year to crack Zuko’s very thick exterior, but all he had really needed was some personal attention and the barest scraps of caring, in the end. He’d started with his go-to strategy of just talking, which would make most people comfortable enough to loosen up. Zuko wasn’t most people, though. He would sit very thoughtfully and listen and barely ever said anything. Zuko didn’t like to talk about where he was from, like most people did when they first arrived at college. Sokka discovered he much preferred to talk about his interests, and what he was doing now, rather than anything about his past. 

He was a little mysterious like that, but between all the offhand comments he’d made in response to Sokka talking about his life back in Alaska, he’d been able to piece together a pretty good picture. Pretty good as in pretty terrible, of course.

Sokka knew plenty of people used college as their escape from home, an easy step to moving out with less pressure. He’d known his fair share of people growing up who had less than stellar home lives, but Zuko really took the cake. A prodigal sister who was set to graduate early and go to Oxford, and was favored very obviously by their single dad. Sokka finally got Zuko’s attention when his response to not having a mom was “me, too.” After that, it was like a floodgate had opened of how Zuko hated living in Phoenix. Scorching hot, no friends of his own, hating every waking (or sleeping) moment in his own home. Even to photos of the desert, which Sokka thought were quite beautiful, Zuko said he was sick of it. 

When they landed in Juneau after a grueling nine hours of flying with an additional one hour layover, Sokka had never been so glad to see his sister waiting to pick them up.

“I’m so glad you’re back!” she said as she threw her arms around her brother.

Sokka breathed in the familiar air around him, and the scent of home that comes with hugging Katara. “Same. I’m sure you’ll be sick of me talking your ear off in… probably two hours.” 

Katara let go of Sokka, and turned to his roommate. “Hi, Zuko! It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Zuko stood there awkwardly, hands still clinging to his luggage. “Nice to meet you, too.”

There was a moment of silence in which Katara just cast Sokka a look, before turning back to the car. “Okaaaay, you guys can just throw your stuff in the back. I’ll pop the trunk.”

When Zuko slid into the backseat, so did Sokka, laying out across the back and plopping his legs into Zuko’s lap. “Hey Katara, did you know Zuko has to take medicine so he doesn’t puke on the plane?”

“Could you not?” Zuko asked, ignoring Sokka staring up at him and looking out the window instead.

“No, stupid, why would I know that,” Katara grumbled. “Can you please sit up and put your seatbelt on? I don’t want to get a ticket.”

“Nope, I am about to take the fattest nap,” Sokka replied, curling up.

༄

There were many things Zuko could not understand about living in Sokka’s house.

The first was the food rule. Or perhaps lack thereof. Living at college had Zuko more accustomed to eating when he wanted, but that was _college_ . This was a home environment. And to just watch Sokka or Katara wander into the kitchen whenever they pleased, open the refrigerator, or god forbid _yell_ and ask why there was no food when there was _clearly_ food in there was quite beyond Zuko’s scope for existing.

The second was the lack of schedule. Sometimes in the past couple weeks Sokka and Katara’s grandmother would insist Sokka needed to mow the lawn or Karata clean the shared bathroom counter of her makeup, but other than that everyone in the house slept when they wanted, ate on their own, and would leave the house for hours at a time without so much as a note. Their grandmother was pretty constant, but she was always puttering around doing her own projects or going to the store.

All of this was starting to make Zuko understand why Sokka had acted the way he did at college. Zuko’s assigned roommate had confused him a lot at first, but over the course of freshman year he’d learned to accept his weird habits of sleeping until one, going to the gym at eleven pm, and somehow squashing in a visit to a frat party in between it all. 

Sokka had been very polite about his random comings and goings, and occasionally asking Zuko if he’d like to join him on trips to the dining hall to study on the lawn. Once Zuko started saying yes, he began to enjoy walking through campus in the dead of night, or accompanying Sokka to nurse his hangovers with plate after plate of bacon and eggs. 

Yes, that was all well and good, but now they were _home_. As uncomfortable as it made him sometimes, it was lightyears better than having to go back to Phoenix for summer break. Zuko could barely imagine living without Sokka’s constant presence anymore.

“I’m about to make lunch, you want a grilled cheese?” Sokka opened the door of the guest room, now Zuko’s, without knocking. That was the third thing, but luckily only Sokka did that to Zuko.

“Yes please,” Zuko answers from his place on the floor, where he’d been stretching in the sun. 

“You want anything in it?”

“Spinach?”

“Ew. In grilled cheese?”

“Will you put it in or not?”

Sokka sighs. “I _suppose_ I can defile my perfect grilled cheese recipe so you can have some vegetables.” And closed the door back as he left.

Fifteen minutes later, Zuko hears his name being hollered from the kitchen and he bolts downstairs before Sokka can do it again and disturb everyone. He slides the last few feet in his socks, just as Sokka is putting Zuko’s sandwich on a plate. 

“I don’t understand why you just scream across your house,” he says, settling onto a stool at the counter. Sokka stands on the other side and just eats off the cutting board.

“Dunno,” he says around a mouthful of sandwich. “Who cares?”

“Your family?” 

“Nah,” he wrinkles his nose. “Gran Gran doesn’t mind. And who cares about Katara.”

Zuko just shakes his head in response.

“Want to go somewhere later?” Sokka asks.

Zuko pushes his crust around on his plate with a finger and puts on his best pout. “...I was going to ask if we could watch more Glee.”

Glee had become their summer activity. On their second day back, Sokka had suggested they pick a series to watch. There was much debate, between animes, sitcoms, and crime dramas, and if the show should even be good or just have a lot of episodes, when Zuko prevailed with Glee and Sokka solely going along so he could hate-watch it. 

Sokka groans. “Oh my god! We watched half a season yesterday! Can we have a break?”

“What about after dinner?”

“...Fine.”

Zuko loves the summer in Juneau. He can wear pants during the day if he wants to. He doesn’t have to feel his skin start to burn the second the sun rays hit him when he steps out of the shade. No worries about literally melting his skin off if he comes into contact with pavement or metal. Going back to Arizona this summer would be hell, in more ways than one.

The only thing he’s had some trouble adjusting to has been the extended daylight. He’s always found it hard to sleep past sunrise, and if it weren’t for the very effective blackout curtains in his room, Zuko would be barely sleeping. It was still weird to open them at seven am to full-on midday sun, but it was also cool in it’s own way. 

Nothing so far had been as cool as this, though.

“How does it not melt?” Zuko stares in wonder at the glacier in the distance. An honest to god glacier, in the middle of June, no less. It was actually quite cold out here (at least by Zuko’s standards), and he’d had to borrow a hat and an extra layer from Sokka’s extensive winter closet. 

“Oh, it does melt,” Sokka explains. “But every winter the top layer gets refreshed with snow and stuff. It fluctuates throughout the year. However, it is steadily getting smaller, ‘cause of like, global warming and shit.”

“That’s so sad!” Zuko takes another photo. “Sokka, it’s so _blue_.”

Sokka looks entirely too pleased with Zuko’s wonder over the glacier. “It’s blue because of light refraction, all that jazz. The ice absorbs all colors except blue, which it reflects.”

“This might easily be the coolest thing I’ve seen so far.” Zuko knows he’s just fanning the flames here, but he’s genuinely so excited about this glacier for reasons he can’t come up with.

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.” Sokka leans against the railing nonchalantly. “Dad used to bring us here as kids to go hiking. Nothing like trekking across ice for six hours as a ten year old. One time we came when it was winter, and that shit gets rough. I got terrible wind burn on my face and I swear it peeled off three layers of skin.” 

“Once I melted the bottoms of my feet on the pavement in the middle of summer in Phoenix.”

“Like, actually melted?” 

“Yeah. I didn’t realize at first, and by the time I felt it and fell into the grass my skin was all soft,” Zuko says with an entirely straight face.

Sokka looks horrified. “Dude… how do you live out there?”

“You don’t. Can we go closer?”

“Sure, we can go on the other trail. That’ll get us super close.”

Like a child, Zuko claps his hands together excitedly. Something about the gesture is so pure, it makes Sokka’s insides jump. He loves to see his best friend so happy.

༄

This time, Sokka bursts in when Zuko is fresh from the shower.

“Hey du– oh shit sorry.” Sokka snatches the door shut just as fast as he’d thrown it open. Oops oops oops. 

“This wouldn’t happen if you’d just _knock_.” Zuko’s disgruntled voice is muffled through the door.

“It’s not in my nature,” Sokka defends. “Are you decent?”

“Can you give me one more second?” Zuko huffs, followed by some inaudible mumbling that’s probably Sokka getting cursed at. “Okay, you can come in.”

Sokka opens the door again and waltzes in. “Alright, as I was going to say: Katara is having her friends over in a few hours, so we have to go out. You have any preferences on food?”

Zuko rubs the towel across his hair one more time, making it fluff up. “They’re always here. Doesn’t she ever go to someone else’s house?”

Sokka shrugs, swinging around the post at the end of the bed. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing my entire life, buddy. Anyways; food?”

Zuko actually looks like he’s thinking, and not about to say ‘whatever you want’ like he usually does. “What about the pho place we went to the first week?”

Sokka places his hands on his heart and looks proud. “You’re learning! Yes, we can go there. I think they’re invading the house in half an hour so we should go soon, if you’re hungry.”

“Yeah, we can go now,” Zuko says.

Sokka makes the bill twice as much as it needs to be, but by god he is going to finish this third round of crab rangoons as Zuko looks on in what Sokka was choosing to interpret as awe. 

“Please, do not puke this up in thirty minutes.”

“I won’t!” Sokka says around a mouthful of cream cheesy goodness.

“There’s such a thing as a takeout box, you know.” Zuko takes a measured sip from his bowl, the broth as red as the cheap plastic chairs they’re sitting in. Sokka has no clue how Zuko hasn’t broken into a sweat at the sheer amount of Sriracha and chili peppers he put in his soup.

Sokka looks at the last five rangoons on his plate, and contemplates how long he and Zuko will be out while Katara’s horde of friends fill his home. He decides to get another order, _and_ a box. Between that and his large bowl of pho tai, he should be set for a couple hours. Or however long it takes Zuko to finish, at his snail pace. 

“I’ve thought about the rest of the summer,” Zuko says after the waitress deposits Sokka’s new plate of rangoons. 

“Oh?” Sokka hadn’t wanted to push Zuko into making a decision, but it was the last week and he’d started to wonder.

“If your offer is still open, I’d love to stay.” Zuko puts another bunch of bean sprouts into his bowl. “I think I’ll go see my uncle for a few days right before school starts again. He really wants to see me, and I can get away with a short visit, but, other than that…” He trails off, watching Sokka closely for his reaction.

The rangoon that was halfway to Sokka’s mouth stops. “Yes. Yes, of course! The offer is definitely still open, duh!“ says Sokka excitedly. He reaches across the table to poke at Zuko’s arm. “I had a feeling you’d want to stay. How else would we finish Glee?”

“That’s true,” Zuko looks a little embarrassed by his predictability, but he’s smiling all the same as he moves his beansprouts around in the broth. “But people can change their minds.”

“We’d never. Plus, Gran Gran loves having someone in the house who gets out of bed before ten.”

“I do like sitting with her in the mornings,” Zuko replies. 

“So, you think you’ll be able to avoid your dad when you go back?” Sokka puts the rest of his rangoons into the box to limit himself to two more. 

Zuko shrugs, fishing around his bowl for any stray toppings he might’ve missed. “I think so. It’s not like I would be waltzing around Phoenix advertising I’m there. Maybe I should start giving him a better reason to leave me alone.”

“Being a homosexual wasn’t enough, huh?”

“Once Azula came out, he decided he could be okay with it. Like, I can’t have one thing to myself in that house!” Zuko pushes away from the table, exasperated. 

Sokka chuckles, and starts scratching a pattern in the styrofoam of the takeout box with his nail. “I wish Katara was gay. Just a little.”

“Having a gay sibing stops being fun when they have way more game than you,” Zuko deadpans, sipping another tiny spoonful of broth.

“Can we goooooo?” Sokka moans. “Jesus, dude, that can’t even be _close_ to warm anymore!”

“It may not be warm, but it’s _hot_ ,” Zuko says mischievously. “You wanna finish it for me?”

“No.” Sokka shivers, remembering their first trip to Bowl of Pho. One accidental bite out of a jalapeño slice that Zuko was never going to let him forget.

Zuko lifts his bowl to his lips and drains it in one go, maintaining direct eye contact with Sokka. “Happy?” He asks, setting it back onto the plate. 

“Thrilled. Let’s bounce.”

Sokka drives Zuko around Juneau under the evening sunshine, pointing out places he used to hang out or work at as they listen to music, the inlet of the pacific ocean water that the city is situated on sparkling in the distance. While they wait at a particularly long stoplight, a shop on the other side of the road catches Sokka’s eye. 

“You wanna give your dad another reason to ignore you?”

“Almost always.”

Sokka studies the case of jewelry while Zuko sits in one of the chairs, bouncing his foot up and down. 

“I’ve never thought about getting a piercing before,” Zuko says, cracking his knuckles. Sokka’s come to recognize it as one of his nervous habits. “Are you sure this place is safe?’’

“Yeah, Katara got hers done here. Better than at like, a Claire’s or something. Chill.”

“I’m never chill.”

Sokka sighs. “Yes, I’m aware. What about these ones?” He points to a simple set of golden studs in the case, one of a moon and a star. 

Zuko gets up to join him at the glass. “Sure. Can I have the star?”

“Perfect, cuz I wanted the moon.”

The girl behind the counter pulls the jewelry out, and informs them that someone is just finishing up, about five more minutes. Sokka slips her his card to pay for it. 

“What side should we get them on?” Sokka asks.

“Probably the right. It’s the gay ear, isn’t it?”

“...There’s a gay ear?”

Zuko sighs and leans against the glass. “Yes! Haven’t you heard of people being beaten up in prison for having the wrong ear pierced?”

“Sorry, I didn’t plan on being a single-ear-pierecing-bisexual until ten minutes ago!” Sokka whips out his phone, furiously googling ‘which ear is the gay ear’.

“You’re so stupid.”

When they finally get called back, they both look at the chair and then at each other. “Who’s going first?” The piercer asks. 

“Uh, I’ll go,” Sokka says, since Zuko’s looking a little more pale and tremulous than usual. He takes a seat in the chair. There’s definitely a pinch when the guy sticks the needle through Sokka’s earlobe, but he’s so fast that the jewelry is in and he’s telling Sokka to get up before he really starts to feel it. 

Zuko is trying to take a calming breath with his eyes closed in the chair as the piercer prepares a fresh needle. Sokka already has Snapchat open and examining his ear in the camera when he notices Zuko tapping his leg. “Wh- oh.”

He looks down to see Zuko with his hand out, palm up, clearly trying to keep his breath steady. Sokka immediately goes into comfort mode. “Shit, I didn’t realize you were this scared.” He shoves his phone into his pocket and takes Zuko’s hand in both of his, squatting down to be more in his line of sight. 

“I’m not scared,” Zuko answers quickly. “Just nerves. I don’t love needles.”

“Don’t worry, tough guy,” Sokka grins. “It barely hurt. I swear.”

Zuko squeezes Sokka’s hand so hard, he might feel one of his joints shift. There’s only one tear, and Zuko’s quick to wipe it away, but when the star is set in his skin and the piercer says they’re good to go, Zuko looks supremely accomplished.

“Thank you!” Sokka tells the guy. “And see, totally fine!” Zuko’s hand is still glued to his, so Sokka gives it a little shake of encouragement. 

“It wasn’t too bad,” Zuko says, a little watery. 

“It looks sick,” Sokka assures him. They take a photo in the shop mirror. Zuko tucks his face up against the back of Sokka’s head, so you can easily see their coordinating earrings. Even though it’s out of frame, Zuko still hasn’t let go of Sokka’s hand.

༄

“Sokka!” Katara calls from the bathroom “Can you come help me?”

“Yeah!” Sokka yells back. Zuko is expecting Sokka’s loud voice, but he still jumps a little no matter what.

They abandon their game of Uno on Sokka’s rug, and wander to the bathroom in the hallway. Katara is staring intently in the mirror, flatiron in her hand. “Can you get the back?” She holds the straightener towards Sokka while she examines the front parts of her hair.

Sokka takes the straightener and very methodically begins to go through Katara’s thick hair, picking out pieces that are a little wonky and running them between the plates. Zuko crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe to watch with interest. 

“I saved you so much embarrassment in middle school when I started doing this for you,” Sokka says. 

“Yep, and then I realized I was frying the living hell out of my hair.” Katara’s lips form an O as she applies some extra mascara. “But the humidity isn’t crazy today, so I can actually do it without it getting ruined the second I step outside.”

“Stop moving,” Sokka grumbles, struggling to fit in the next section of hair while Katara rummages around the counter.

Zuko tilts his head to the side. “You look nice, Katara.”

“Aw, thanks Zuko.”

“A little too nice for who you’re going out with, in my opinion– I said _stop moving_.”

Katara rolls her eyes as Sokka grabs her shoulders and holds her still. “You’re just salty that Jet’s at MIT and you’re not.”

“Um, not true!” Sokka snaps the flatiron shut with a loud _click_ for emphasis. “First of all, if I went to MIT then I wouldn’t know Zuko, and my life would be exponentially shittier. Second, Jet has been annoying since the seventh grade, so we have half a lifetime of beef for me to stew in my simmering pot of hatred.”

Zuko turns to press his forehead into the doorframe as he laughs, partially to cover his laugh and partially to distract from the stupid grin that stays there after he can’t get rid of. Luckily the siblings are too busy bickering to pay much mind.

“Jet can suck my Tufts University attending dick. I can’t believe I’m even letting you–”

“I can do whatever I want, _actually_.” She cuts him off.

“Then I can’t believe Gran Gran is letting you go out with him.”

“As long as I’m home by ten thirty,” Katara says smugly.

“I _will_ be watching life 360.”

“Fucking stalker.”

Sokka puts the flatiron on the only available counter space, and fans out Katara’s hair with a flourish. “All flat.”

Katara turns to inspect what she can see in the mirror, and then turns her back to Zuko. “Did he get it all?” Now it’s Sokka’s turn to roll his eyes.

Zuko’s eyes roam over Katara’s hair, and he brushes through it once with his fingers, feeling the residual warmth. “Looks good to me.”

“Okay.” She turns back to the mirror. “Thanks, Sokka.” 

“No prob,” Sokka replies.

Twenty minutes later, Sokka and Zuko are peeking through the blinds in Zuko’s room at the road, watching for Jet’s car. Sokka’s eyes are fixed firmly on the sidewalk, while Zuko himself keeps stealing glances to the side at his friend.

“So what else do you hate about this guy?” Zuko asks, fully stirring the pot.

“He’s so cocky. He practically cheated his way to a diploma. I _worked_ for my spot as valedictorian, and what, he just gets to copy papers and skip class and gets to go to one of the top tech schools? I’ll never get over it.” Outside, a car finally pulls up and Sokka slaps Zuko’s arm. “There. He better at least come to the door.”

Jet does, in fact, get out and come to the door instead of just texting Katara that he’s arrived. 

“Oh, shit. Why’s he kind of cute?”

Sokka gags. “Dude, don’t _say_ that.”

“I’m sorry!” Zuko cries defensively. “He’s got a nice jaw!”

“His bone structure is wack.”

“...Okay, I guess his eyebrows are kind of angular.”

Sokka radiates animosity as they watch Katara and Jet make their way to the car. When Jet opens the door for her, Sokka sighs. Almost as if he’d heard it, Jet turns to look back at the house, directly into their window. Zuko immediately flattens against the floor while Sokka continues to glare.

“Dude, don’t you feel weird about spying?” Zuko asks from the carpet.

“He knows how I feel,” Sokka grinds out. He does the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture out the window and Zuko gets secondhand embarrassment from just being near the situation.

Zuko waits what he thinks is a normal amount of time for Jet to be out of eye line before sitting up, just in time to watch them drive away. He can already tell Sokka is going to be dwelling on this all night if he doesn’t do something.

“Come on, let’s see if we can finish out our season tonight.”

Sokka turns, and the look on his face shows he’s not really understanding what Zuko is saying at first. “Oh. right, yeah. Hey, want to go out on the back roof? It’s pretty flat, we can watch outside, since the weather’s nice.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Of all the times now Zuko had gone into Sokka’s room, he’d never realized that his window led to a part of the roof that was habitable. But five minutes later, when they’re laden with snacks and the laptop, Sokka cracks open the window and steps out onto the roof of the screened in porch. The space is’t huge, and it’s still at enough of a slope that if you weren’t careful your phone might go sliding, but Zuko thinks it’s cozy. And Sokka was right, the weather is perfect.

After two episodes go by, Zuko confiscates Sokka’s phone to keep him from obsessively tracking Katara’s every move. After the third, Sokka is so paranoid that he tries to wrestle it away from Zuko and they cause such a commotion that Sokka’s grandmother has to come out and see what is going on. Only after Sokka gets reprimanded, (Zuko has that sweet, sweet guest immunity), does he finally relax.

“Can you look me in the eyes and say you honestly enjoy this show,” Sokka says, shoving a handful of mini marshmallows into his mouth.

“You say that like you ripping it apart is not bringing you any joy.”

“It does, but my brain can only handle so much rotting at once. My brain cells are precious, you know.”

“This is the last episode of the season, can you just shut the fuck up for twenty minutes.”

Sokka dramatically spreads across the roof and Zuko’s lap, and does, indeed, shut up for the rest of the episode. As soon as the credits roll he snaps the laptop shut and holds his hand out. “Phone. Gimme.”

Zuko pulls it from the pocket of his joggers and hands it to Sokka, who gleefully opens the life 360 app. “I just want him to slip up _so_ bad, Zuko.”

“Are you going to try and punch me in the nose if I tell you to chill again?”

Sokka reaches up and cups Zuko’s cheek in his hand, in a way like he’s never done before, looks deep into Zuko’s eyes and says, “How could I ever think of breaking such a pretty face?”

Zuko knows it’s a joke, because Sokka cracks a giant smile afterwards and goes right back to checking his phone. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop his heart from beating fast, and the sudden need for Sokka to get the hell out of his lap. 

When ten twenty rolls around, pulling the beginnings of the sunset with it, Sokka drags Zuko back to the front of the house. At this point, Zuko kind of is hoping Jet will somehow screw up so Sokka can let out all his pent up angst he’d been brewing all day. Right at ten thirty, when Jet’s car pulls back up, Sokka looks ready to commit a murder. 

Unfortunately, Zuko’s wish does not come true. Jet walks Katara back to the door, and this time he searches the windows to see if Sokka is watching again. It’s a wonder Jet’s satisfied smirk, and his hand on Katara’s waist pulling her closer doesn’t literally cause Sokka to burst into flames. 

Zuko is carefully peeking over the edge of the window sill, and he almost misses what happens next because of the steep angle. On the front stoop, before Katara can go inside, he twirls her against his chest and gives her a kiss.

Sokka’s jaw drops open, looking positively scandalized. “EWWW!” He yells, smashing his eyes shut and balling up his fists. “That’s it, I am going to break his stupid sharp jaw once and for all!” Sokka’s off the floor and down the hall like a shot, leaving Zuko scrambling to catch up.

“Sokka, don’t embarrass her-” On the stairs, Zuko tries to reach out and grab the back of Sokka’s shirt, but misses a step in the process which sends them both flying onto the landing that is located conveniently behind the front door. Zuko lands right on his shoulder which hurts like a bitch, but Sokka is already scrambling to get back up so Zuko just lays there and pulls him back down.

The door opens to Katara looking at the two of them writhing around on the landing, Jet looking very satisfied in the background. The smile on Katara’s face slips into annoyance. “Sokka! What the hell!”

Sokka starts to yell again, but Zuko slaps a hand over his mouth before he can get much out. “Can you just _shut up_.” He growls in Sokka’s ear. Sokka is licking his palm in an attempt to get him to move his hand, but Zuko tenses up and bears the horrible sensation. 

Katara turns back to Jet. “I’m sorry about my brother, clearly he _doesn’t know how to behave_ ,” she bites out with one more glance at the stair landing. “I’ll text you!”

Jet just chuckles, and has the gall to _wink_ at Sokka. Zuko has to wrap his legs around Sokka’s koala-style just to hold him down. 

“I tried!” Zuko says as soon as Katara has closed the door behind her. He releases Sokka, rolling away in case he explodes, but instead he stays lying on the floor, glowering at his sister. “Was it uh… nice?” Zuko goes on.

“As a matter of fact, it was _very nice_.” Katara spits, making her way up the stairs, nose up as she steps over the boys on her way.

“He only kissed you to piss me off!” Sokka yells at her retreating form. 

“No, he didn’t! You don’t know how the rest of my evening was!” Katara calls back.

Sokka and Zuko lie there for a few more seconds as she disappears into her room and closes the door. 

“ _Wait_ , WHAT?!”

༄

“Watching this show gives me mental whiplash,” Sokka says. On the TV, Kurt gets shoved into the lockers for the second time in five minutes. “The best thing that’s happened this entire episode was the Katy Perry number.”

Zuko just grumbles in response. “You and your obsession with Katy Perry.”

“The entire Teenage Dream album was an instant classic, you’re acting like this is an opinion only I have.”

Zuko wishes he could argue with Sokka, but instead he just snuggles closer into Sokka’s side under their shared throw blanket. Behind them in the kitchen, Katara bustles around cleaning up after making brownies.

“This show is terrible!” She comments. “The homophobia is so… extreme.”

“We know,” Sokka and Zuko say simultaneously. 

“And this subplot of these girls not wanting to have sex and making them out to be the victims for it is so awful!”

“Katara, no one watches this show anymore because they think it’s _good_.” Sokka throws up his hand that isn’t draped over Zuko’s shoulder.

“I kind of like the singing and dancing,” Zuko replies.

“Ugh, why?” Katara says. “It’s weirdly overdone. Like, the lights and the costumes. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sometimes the mashups are catchy!”

“Can you believe that _Glee_ covers consistently made the Billboard charts while this was on air?” Sokka says.

“Yeah, I _remember_. The Lady Gaga one haunts me. Come in here, the brownies are out.”

Sokka lets out an excited gasp and jumps up to run into the kitchen. “Bring me one, please!” Zuko calls. He hates the cold feeling that’s left beside him in Sokka’s absence. 

When they get to the part of the episode where Mr. Schu and Coach Beiste kiss there is a full round of cringing from all three of them. “I don’t understand why people on TV just go around kissing each other. Why is no one saying ‘can I kiss you?’ when you’re not even sure if they want to or not!” Zuko complains, waving his empty plate at Sokka to wordlessly ask for another brownie. 

“I mean, I think you can tell if someone wants to kiss you or not,” Sokka says, taking the plate and getting up.

“The first time? It’s just… I don’t know, it just seems strange they never talk about it. How can you just _know_ you’re going to kiss?” Zuko wrinkles his nose.

“In what world do you need to talk about it?”

“I think consent is never a bad idea,” Katara cuts in. “Nothing wrong with asking someone about anything. Especially if you might be crossing a boundary.”

Zuko sits up to look over the back of the couch at Sokka in the kitchen. “See! Thank you, Katara.” Sokka just rolls his eyes.

Katara looks pleased. “Jeez, it’s like you’re not even watching the episode, Sokka. Kurt was clearly upset that his first kiss wasn’t a choice–”

“Oh, you are not about to validate the plot of this fucking _Glee_ episode right now.”

“So you think Zuko’s wrong?” Katara knows better than to throw herself in there.

Sokka settles back onto the couch and hands Zuko his brownie. “I’m just saying that _usually_ you can tell if you are going to kiss. Not that it’s bad to ask, but if you have to ask then maybe you just shouldn’t kiss them. That’s all.”

Zuko absorbs this new information. He thinks about how much closer he and Sokka have been getting since he’s been staying here– all their platonic cuddling, and their lowered inhibitions about touching one another since their trip to the piercing shop. If Sokka said there was a feeling that went along with being kissed, maybe he had been misreading the situation. Sokka was not acting differently. At all.

༄

The next time Katara’s friends came over late, Zuko and Sokka let them have the downstairs to themselves after trying and failing to come up with better plans. Zuko wanders into Sokka’s room after his shower, where Sokka is lying on his bed on TikTok. Sokka looks at Zuko’s frame in the doorway. “Glee time?”

Zuko just closes the door behind him while Sokka opens up his laptop. Zuko settles onto the bed, and decides he can shamelessly take a moment to admire Sokka’s arms and how good he looks in a tank top. Tank tops are stupid– how the hell can he look good in just a tank top and sweatpants? 

Once Sokka has the episode up, he shifts back on the bed and pulls Zuko to him, burying his nose in Zuko’s hair. “Mmm, you smell so clean.”

“I would hope so.” Zuko should probably not be letting this happen now that he feels the way he does. But he lets Sokka hold him through four straight episodes. 

By the fifth, Zuko can feel that Sokka’s not really watching. He’s got his head tucked onto Zuko’s shoulder, and he can see that his eyelashes are fluttering open only now and again. Zuko pulls the laptop closer with his arm that isn’t pinned up against Sokka, closes it, and then pushes it down to the foot of the bed. The room is plunged into darkness, save for the few beams of light that leak from the edges of the blackout curtains.

“Thanks,” Sokka mumbles, turning all the way to the side so his chest is flush with Zuko’s. He loops his arm all the way across his waist. 

Zuko is still for only a moment before shifting down a little so he and Sokka are at the same level, and moves to hold him back.

While Sokka rests with his eyes closed, Zuko lets his adjust to the dark. He takes in the scene of Sokka with his face pressed into the pillow, his loose hair spilling across his cheek, his lips slightly parted, the curvature of his face barely visible in the soft glow of the outside light. Several minutes pass, and Zuko reaches his hand up to gently brush through Sokka’s hair.

In response, Sokka moves the arm that’s draped over Zuko’s waist to the middle of his back and reaches up with the arm that’s between them to cradle Zuko’s neck in his hand, and draws him closer. Sokka lets out a sigh, his face is so close Zuko can feel it on his own lips.

Zuko closes his eyes as he continues to stroke Sokka’s hair. He likes the different feelings of the long, silky strands, and the soft close texture of where his head is shaved. He runs his fingers gently across Sokka’s forehead and back across his hair. Sokka starts to rub his thumb across Zuko’s back, and it’s all Zuko can do to suppress a shiver.

Time warps. Zuko doesn’t know if they’ve been laying there for five minutes or thirty. Zuko opens his eyes now and again to find Sokka still with his closed, but now tracing swirling patterns across Zuko’s back. Zuko is counting the freckles across Sokka’s nose when he decides to open his eyes. 

In the dark, Sokka’s normally sapphire eyes are a much deeper blue. Zuko feels something akin to terror in his chest, but it’s quickly being squashed back down by the feelings of anticipation that fill his entire body.

_Can I kiss you? Are we going to kiss?_ It’s on the tip of Zuko’s tongue. Suddenly he knows exactly what Sokka had said about just knowing if you’re going to kiss. But then why wasn’t it happening? 

Sokka trails his thumb along Zuko’s neck along the pulse point, looking at the spot. _Are we going to kiss?_ Zuko can’t look away from his eyes, even when Sokka meets his gaze again. Sokka shifts ever so slightly, a gentle smile playing on his lips. _Can I kiss you? Are we going to kiss? Can I kiss you? Can I kiss you?_

Sokka closes his eyes again and Zuko wants to melt into the bed and never return to this plane of existence.

After a while longer, Zuko’s hand stills on Sokka’s hair. This whole situation has fried his brain, and he really could just fall asleep in Sokka’s arms. Until Sokka’s finger that’s still tracing swirls makes its way to the hem of Zuko’s shirt, and suddenly his hand is sliding up Zuko’s bare skin and settling onto the small of his back.

Sokka’s palm feels like it’s leaving a burn. He’s already still and laying down, but he feels absolutely dizzy with want, and combined with his generally tired brain and fried nerves he spends the next few minutes just trying to get the words out.

“I’m going to bed.” It comes out of Zuko’s mouth in a hoarse whisper. He rolls out of Sokka’s embrace and quietly pads to the door, unable to look back to see Sokka’s reaction. His own bed is cold and extremely unwelcoming, but it is exactly the environment he needs to properly ground himself. 

༄

Sokka wakes up the next morning and for a moment, is at total peace. He’d had a _very_ nice dream about Zuko except for the end when–

“Fuuuuuuuck.”

Sokka mushes his face into his pillow as hard as he can. Then he smashes into it repeatedly. How in the hell had he managed to fuck that up? The chain of events from the night before make their way back into Sokka’s brain. The hand under the shirt was obviously the last straw. Why? He thought Zuko wasn’t getting the message–somehow–and that would maybe encourage him, but instead it had scared him away. 

_Stupid_ , he thought. _Why were you waiting on_ him _to be the one to ask?_

Why indeed. Sokka swipes around for his phone on his side table. It’s five to ten, and Sokka knows Zuko’s probably already been awake for a couple of hours. Reluctantly, he gets up and opens his curtains to let in the sun, throws on a hoodie, and heads downstairs. 

Zuko is not in the kitchen. If Sokka ever wakes up early enough, Zuko is usually having tea out on the back porch, but a glance out the windows shows he’s not there either. Dishes in the sink show at least one person has gotten up and had breakfast, but it was probably just Gran Gran. Maybe he’s still in bed?

Sokka wants to slap himself. He’s thinking too much. Instead, he retrieves the cast iron from the cabinets and the bacon from the refrigerator. Food fixes everything. 

Sokka is a second batch of bacon in when Zuko silently appears in the kitchen. He tries to act as normal as possible. “Morning.”

Zuko just flaps a sweater paw in response and rubs his scarred eye, blearily making his way to the coffee maker. Zuko _never_ makes coffee.

“Did you just wake up?”

“Mmmhmm,” Zuko mumbles, elbows on the counter and chin in his hands as the coffee maker goes.

Sokka doesn’t ask what kept him up. He’s not ready to talk about it yet. “Want some bacon? There’s still some left in the package.”

Zuko turns his head and squints at the bacon Sokka has accumulated thus far. “I think you already have enough for three people there.”

“Three average people, one Sokka. Yes or no?”

“I’ll pass, but thanks.”

Zuko ends up eating a few pieces off Sokka’s plate anyways. Somehow it’s better than getting to cook for him. Zuko grimaces through the first quarter of his cup of coffee, but by the end he’s looking much more awake. 

“What did you want to do today?” Sokka breaks the silence of their breakfast with a leading question. “More _Glee_?”

Zuko cracks the last piece of bacon in half, not answering at first. “I think I need to book my flight for the end of the week, actually.”

Something inside Sokka breaks.

“Oh, right.” He takes a tiny bite of the half Zuko left for him. He isn’t sure what to say next to fill the space without his voice cracking when he says it.

Zuko looks down into his empty mug and then gets up. “Let me call my Uncle and book my ticket. Then maybe–– we can think of something to do.”

Sokka perks up at this. “Okay.”

While Zuko goes back to his room, Sokka whips out his phone to examine their digitized list of potential plans that he’d made back at the end of May. He skimmed for something they hadn’t done that would be less bros-hanging-out and more… something else. Ooh, botanical gardens! Sokka couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone to Glacier Gardens, but he did remember it being very pretty. He can do this. _It’s just Zuko._

༄

Zuko’s seen his fair share of plantlife in Phoenix, but that’s just another thing he loves about Juneau. He examines large bushes, the likes of which he’s never seen before, while Sokka examines the garden map.

“Okay, so I’m pretty sure that way is towards the native plant section, and that’s towards the greenhouse, but if we go this way we can see–”

“Can’t we just walk around?” Zuko reaches out to brush his fingers along the long, thin leaves of the grassy bush. He turns his head to look at Sokka, who is clearly conflicted.

After a short moment, however, he just folds the map up and sticks it in his pocket. “Sure. We can just walk.”

Zuko likes to stop to take photos every now and then of plants that are particularly interesting, or placards that tell interesting facts. He is enjoying getting lost in the maze of paths that wind around the gigantic space, but when he sees the greenhouse in the distance, he gets excited. He can’t help but take Sokka’s hand and lead the way over to it. 

The greenhouse is hot. And it’s humid, the air heavy with a wet smell that Zuko’s nose tells him is jungle. The only sounds inside the giant glass dome are the occasional bird tweet and frog croak, and the gentle sounds of the flowing faux river. There’s also a surprisingly dense mist hovering around the ceiling, showing off the beams of sun that stream through the roof. 

“I feel like I’m in a cartoon,” Sokka says at a volume lower than normal. The peaceful ambiance of the greenhouse has Zuko wanting to whisper, too. Sokka pokes at a leaf that's almost the size of his body in length, and a smattering of water droplets falls from where they clung to the bottom.

“Yeah,” Zuko replies. He wonders if there's anyone else in the greenhouse with them.

There’s a little viewing spot above the faux creek that runs through the green house, and Zuko feels content to stand next to Sokka and watch the water trickle by.

They sit in comfortable silence for a moment, leaning against the railing watching a bright blue frog that’s definitely not native to Alaska hop across the bank. 

“Can I ask you something?” Zuko traces a pattern on the metal rail to avoid looking at Sokka when he says it.

“Of course.”

“Why didn’t we kiss last night?”

Sokka draws in a short breath, but he doesn’t answer. Zuko’s brain immediately starts to go a hundred miles an hour.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said a couple weeks ago, about how you know when you’re going to kiss someone. And, and I _get_ it now, I know what you were talking about, or at least I thought I did? Because I thought it was going to happen but then it wasn’t and now I’m confused, is that _not_ what it feels like because then what else–” Zuko cuts himself off when he notices Sokka moving in his peripheral vision. He’s got his face in his hands and his shoulders are shaking, and for a heart stopping moment Zuko thinks he's laughing at _him_.

Sokka reaches out a hand and puts it over one of Zuko’s. He takes a deep breath, tapping his teeth on the knuckles of his other hand to try and suppress his smile. Zuko is deeply confused.

“Zuko,” Sokka begins. “I didn’t do anything because I was thinking about what _you_ said that night. How you didn’t think you could understand that wordless communication. You weren’t asking, so... I wasn’t kissing.”

Zuko feels really stupid. 

“But… well, you weren’t saying anything either!” He spits out, flustered.

“I’m not the one who cared though!” Sokka turns and grabs Zuko’s so they’re facing each other. “Listen, this–” he gestures at himself “– is open for kissing, like twenty-four/seven. It seemed like having control of the situation was really important to you, so I was trying to let you make the decision. I’m sorry if that’s not what you wanted.”

Zuko sighs, and falls forward into Sokka’s chest. “It was though. You were right to think that, it’s my fault.”

“Uh, ‘fault’? What do you mean?” Sokka asks, looping his arms around Zuko. “Nothing bad happened.”

“It was awkward, though,” Zuko mumbles.

“Who gives a shit?” Sokka hauls Zuko off his chest, and makes him look him in the eye. “And for the record, you were right. That is exactly what it feels like. To want to be kissed and know the other person wants it, too, and you don’t have to be afraid of it.” Sokka’s fingers brush along Zuko’s cheeks, which he can feel are positively on fire.

“Oh,” is all Zuko can manage. “Um.”

The encouraging look Sokka is giving him is so tender, Zuko doesn’t know what to do with himself. He’s either ready to run a marathon or pass out right there in Sokka’s arms. Is he sweating? Jesus, wait, how long has it been? All of the feelings that Zuko was feeling when they had been laying in Sokka’s bed that night are coming back, but in the light of the day time they are so much more real, and he’s aware that Sokka is conscious and waiting for his response. Again. 

“Can I kiss you?” God, did he even say that right? Did he even say it out loud? Nothing feels real and at the same time nothing has ever felt more real than the fabric of Sokka’s shirt beneath his hands and Sokka’s warm fingertips on Zuko’s pulse points. 

“Of course.” 

Zuko has thought about what it would be like to kiss Sokka for weeks, and dreamt about it even longer. In the warm air of the green house, he finally gets his first taste. And it’s absolutely intoxicating. 

Sokka knows how to _kiss_ , and no one is more willing to be putty in his hands than Zuko. Sokka pulls him close, getting rid of any space in between them, and Zuko’s hands find their way up to the soft sides of Sokka’s head, the short hair under his fingertips quickly becoming one of his favorite feelings in the world.

Zuko is more than willing to open his mouth a little more, but Sokka pulls away, his signature cheeky grin back on his face. “Don’tcha wanna save some for later?”

“Not really,” Zuko says, hooking a finger into the side of Sokka’s wolf tail to pull a little piece free. The sight makes him feel like all the muscles in his chest have twisted up.

“Well, we better get to going home, then.”

༄

They spend Zuko’s last two nights at the house sharing a bed, one night in Zuko’s guest bedroom and the other in Sokka’s. Sokka quickly got used to the feeling of Zuko in his bed, along next to all the other’s he’d become accustomed to both at school and over the summer: Zuko at his breakfast table, Zuko in his stolen hoodies, Zuko as the first thing he sees when he wakes up in the morning and as the last thing he sees at night. How Zuko’s hair feels in between his fingers, and brushing against his neck, and maybe the best being Zuko’s lips on his skin.

With so little time together, Sokka was determined to map out as much of Zuko as he could in his mind. The way the dips of his collar bones felt beneath his fingers, the way the delicate skin of his neck tasted on his tongue, the steady weight of Zuko on top of him, wishing they could pull so close they’d melt into one. Sokka would take his time littering marks across Zuko’s pale chest, to take with him when he would have to go. 

They didn’t really talk about what it all meant, or what they thought about it. All Sokka knew was that he was Zuko’s, and that if they could have this then that’s all he would need. Even Zuko, who loved to overthink and know and leave no stone unturned, had contentedly tucked himself into Sokka every chance he got in the past two days without so much as a desire for affirmation or a question. There was no need.

Sokka held Zuko’s hand the whole drive to the airport, and as far as they could go together to the start of the security lines, where Sokka pulled him into the tightest embrace he possibly could. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to live without you now.” Sokka knows it sounds dramatic, but he really doesn’t feel any other way.

He expects Zuko to say it’s alright, or no big deal, but instead he breathes Sokka in deeply. “I don’t know either. You’ve just become a permanent fixture in my daily existence.”

Sokka doesn’t want to let go so badly, but his need to look Zuko in the eyes allows him to let go just enough. “Well, we’ll just have to stick it out so we can see each other again, won’t we?

“Yeah.” Zuko reaches out to brush his fingers against Sokka’s pierced ear. “I won’t be too far. I promise.”

Sokka gives him a chaste kiss on the lips, and then they both go in for one more (for good measure). “I’ll see you at school.”

“Four days.”

“I miss you already.”

Sokka watches as Zuko regretfully turns away and leaves him standing all alone, two halves of one whole separated, for the longest time since they’d been put together. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, my loves. i'm around on tumblr (celestialceci) if you'd like to poke me.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [put your lips close to mine (as long as they don't touch) [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27877121) by [Rionaa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionaa/pseuds/Rionaa)




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